Blood of Gold
by Bananas102
Summary: His voice caused a shiver to crawl up his spine. "Its power flows in your veins." Gray swallowed hard and the shackles bit into his wrists. "I will have it," the voice crooned, "I will have you." Attor!Universe. PLEASE REVIEW
1. Chapter 1

**I'm not sure, this could very well be wrong, but I do believe this might be the last part of the story. After this, I figure I'll do some one-shots, and maybe let this go. **

**On the other hand, I'm not sure I really have it me. I love this series. I do, even though it's gotta be one of the crappiest works I've ever done (Not including fanfics). **

**Thank you to the reviews I've gotten. Getting reviews is pretty rare for me, so it makes me so happy to receive them. **

**Since this may be the end, feel free to put in a request in your review, if you choose to leave one. I'll try to work it in there (That's where the ninja's came from :P )**

**~Bananas102**

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><p><em>"They're gone."<em>

_"All of them?"_

_"Yes. But..."_

_"But?"_

_"There's a boy. He has them. He's consumed them, and he's still alive."_

_"...Where?"_

_"Magnolia Town. In Fiore."_

_"The boy. What is his name?"_

_"Gray Fullbuster."_

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><p>Gray slipped back into the main hall, the chatter of voices washing over him. He exhaled softly, moving to stand against the wall, arms folded across his chest. The shuffle of boots alerted him to someone's presence, but he chose to ignore them.<p>

"So, what did she say?" a familiar voice asked. Gray glanced over his shoulder at Matty, who was eyeing him with barely disguised concern. He felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips and he turned and reached out to ruffle Matty's hair.

Matty had gotten taller over the last few months. He'd filled out too, his slim shoulders a little broader and his feet a little bigger. His hair had grown too, thick and shaggy, the light brown strands brushing the tips of his shoulders.

"I'm fine," Gray assured, "There aren't any side effects." Ever since Gray had cried tears of shimmering gold, Mirajane had kepts tabs on him for any sign of side effects they didn't already know about, good and bad alike.

The younger boy nodded mutely. Gray caught sight of Lyon trying to chat up Juvia, ears pink and smiling nervously. Matty shifted his gaze to where Gray was looking. "That reminds me," Matty said good-naturedly, "I have to inform him later."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "About what?" he groused. Matty smiled knowingly. "You," he hummed. Gray did a double take. "Me? What about me?" Matty shook his head, sighing dramatically.

"You really are thick-headed, aren't you? About a month ago, Lyon asked me to give him updates on your check-ups with Mirajane."

The ice mage blinked. "Oh," he said dumbly. Gray cleared his throat. "So' he began, blatantly changing the subject, "You still writing to Yen and Tom?" The two had stayed at Fairy Tail for quite some time before making the decision to move out to Kantera to help out the refugees.

It was unclear if they would ever come back, but Matty, who had grown attached to them, had faith and wrote them almost daily. "Yeah. Yen is kind of a healer-in-training now and Tom found a girl."

Gray huffed a laugh. "I did not see that coming," he admitted. Suddenly, the doors to the hall swung open with a loud creak, drawing the attention of nearly every member.

It was a girl, perhaps sixteen years old, with red hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a tattered green dress and she shifted nervously from one foot to the other, a small parcel clutched in her hands. Gray observed as Lucy approached her, face open and gentle.

"Hi, I'm Lucy." The girl smiled, though it was strained. "Kate. I, uh, I'm looking for someone. This is for them. I-I was told to deliver it," she said breathlessly. Lucy nodded in understanding. "It's no problem. Who are you looking for?"

She licked her lips, eyes flitting around the room. "All I know is that he was a...uh..." Kati leaned in closer to Lucy. "Former...slave?" she whispered. Lucy tensed, and Kate noticed. "Oh," Lucy replied quietly. "He's over there." She pointed to Gray.

"His name is Gray."

Kate nodded and moved past her, trying to keep her head down, but still glancing up occasionally to make sure she was still heading in the right direction. Eyes stayed on her as she walked between the tables.

Gray grew puzzled as the stranger drifted closer. She was not only nervous, but impossibly skittish. She shied away from nearly everyone who looked in her direction. Kate came to a stop in front of Gray.

She swallowed and held the package out to him. Gray blinked once, then twice. "This is for you," Kate told him. Gray was clearly caught off-guard, and he slowly reached out to gingerly take the package from her hands.

"Uh...thanks," Gray fumbled. Kate nodded and turned on her heel, fast-walking out of the guild hall. All eyes turned to Gray, making him squirm a little. He inspected the package. It was a small envelope made of brown paper. Gray ripped it open and pulled out the paper inside, carefully unfolding it.

_Go to the church in Whitebridge. If you ignore this message, there will be consequences. I'll be waiting. _

Gray swallowed hard. His hands crushed the flimsy paper and tore it into pieces, destroying the eerie note. "What was it?" Matty asked, worried. Gray shrugged. "It was nothing," he said lamely.

Matty opened his mouth to argue, but the protest died when he saw how unsettled Gray was. Gray excused himself and left the guild hall to go into town. Matty exhaled. "What was that about?"

He turned to see Lyon standing behind him, head tilted slightly to the side and eyeing him curiously. Matty ran his fingers through his hair, the pads skimming along the surface of his scalp. "I don't know, he wouldn't tell me. Whatever it was, though, it bugged him."

"Hmm."

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><p>Gray skirted through the bustling crowd, keeping his head down and his hands jammed into his pockets. He made sure to keep an eye on the girl in the green dress; the one who delivered the message.<p>

She nearly led him through the entire town, but luckily she stopped and ducked into a small shop. It sold fabrics, and in Gray's opinion, was way too cluttered. All it really had were several giant bins practically overflowing in embroidered scarves and rolls of cloth.

Gray slipped inside after her. She crept to the back of the shop, where she began to sift through the merchandise. Gray approached slowly, trying to be as non-intimidating as possible.

"Hey," he said softly, wincing when she jumped, startled. Her eyes widened. "Uh, what's your name?" he asked. The girl swallowed hard, fingers tightening around the deep red scarf in her hands. "Kate," she replied slowly.

The ice mage licked his lips. "Kate," he began, making sure to keep his tone low so no one else would overhear, "Can you tell me where you got that package?" Kate looks startled for a moment. "A-A man approached me. He told me to give it to you and where to find you."

Gray inhaled. "Do you know what the guy looked like?" Kate shook her head. "He had on a mask," she whispered. "He was dressed all in black." Gray nodded. He eyes Kate's torn dress compared to the scarf she held.

He dug into his pocket, pulling out a few coins and placing them in her hand. "Thank you," he said, sincere.

Kate stared at him like he'd just grown another head. Gray glanced around quickly before leaving, Kate watching him go. A few seconds passed and she looked down at the gold coins that glinted in her palm.

She bought the scarf. As she was the only customer inside, it took under a minute to purchase it and step back outside. Looking to the left, she caught sight of Gray's blue hair. Her teeth scraped against her bottom lip.

"I might just regret this," she sighed to herself before gathering her skirts in her hands and rushing down the street after the mysterious mage.


	2. Chapter 2

**Gray: You haven't updated in ages!**

**Me: ...Yeah, I know.**

**Matty: They're not going to e happy with you...**

**Me: B-But I'm sick!**

**Gray: You weren't sick five days ago!**

**Me: Yah, yah...I'm working on it now...Jeez.**

**Sorry about not updating, I really am. I've been holed up in my house because I'm sick with a 103.7 fever, and I figured I could spend some of my alone time on fanfiction :P Well, I'll try and write what I can before I start feeling worse again.**

**I apologize for the poor quality of this chapter.**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>"Hey!" Gray paused, turning his head to look behind him. He raised an eyebrow questioningly as Kate came skidding to a stop in front of him, face pink either from exertion or embarresment.<p>

"U-Uh, um..where are you going? Who was that man? W-Why did he want me to give that to you?" she questioned. Internally, she was berating herself. What was she doing? She didn't know this guy!

Gray blinked. "Why do you care?" he asked. Kate froze.

"I-I don't really know," she admitted quietly, "I just feel like something important is going to happen, and t-that it's going to happen w-with, um...with you."

Gray blinked again, once, then twice. "Look," he began, "This is kind of personal, and it's something I really just want to put behind me, so I"m going to do what I have to, and then I'm done."

Kate shook her head. "I know, and I'm sorry, b-but this feeling- I can't help it, I feel like I have to go. P-Please let me come with you. I can help."

Gray looked skeptical. "No offense, but what could you possibly help me with?"

Kate frowned. "I'm good at things, like sneaking around and cooking."

Gray sighed, eyes falling shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You know what; Fine. Whatever. Do what you want," he sighed, and Kate smiled.

"T-Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Kate fell into step alongside him, a bit too nervous to look him in the eye. "W-Where are we going?" she asked timidly.

Gray replied smoothly, "Whitebridge."

She blinked, the corners of her mouth turning down in a frown. "R-Right now?"

The ice mage scoffed. "No. Going to Whitebridge means we'll have to journey deep into the mountains, and neither of us have supplies for a trip like that."

He veered into another shop, where he snatched a leather knapsack and purchased it. "I'll get what I can here and then I'll have to go back to my guild for something."

Kate briefly glanced at him. "D-Do they know about this?"

Gray slowed down for a moment. "No," he said eventually. "And they aren't going to know. Not until we're far enough way so they can't do anything about it."

"I-If this is a secret, then why are you going back?"

"I need something."

"Badly?" Kate ventured.

Gray nodded. "You could say my life depends on it."

The two met up on the outskirts of town late that night, Kate with the knapsack full of the supplies Gray had bought and left in her care, and Gray with seemingly nothing more than himself.

"W-What did you go back for?"

Gray's hands unconsciously curled around the golden disks stuffed in his pockets. "It's not important right now. Let's go."

Kate frowned, but nodded, and followed her new travel partner down the path towards the mountains.

The warmth of day was quickly overcome by the night chill, and Kate shivered.

"Are you cold?" Gray asked quietly, breaking the silence between them, save for the crickets that chirped from within the nearby bushes.

The redhead looked at him. "A-Aren't you?" she asked slowly, confused.

It was almost the middle of winter practically everywhere but Magnolia.

Gray shook his head. "I don't really get cold," he told her, and at her continued confusion, he explained, "I'm an ice mage."

Her eyes widened. "Like, magic?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She wasn't as surprised as she thought she'd be, only because he seemed like the kind of person who would be a mage.

Gray's flickered back and forth, constantly aware of their surroundings and on edge, as if he expected an army to come and declare war on him personally.

Kate couldn't help but quickly look him over while his attention was elsewhere.

At first glance, Gray didn't seem like anything but a ice mage, young and full of energy.

But looking closer, she could see the scars littered all over his body, and the weariness in his steps.

_He's no stranger to hardship._

She glanced up to see Gray looking at her, and her face went pink.

Gray didn't say anything, just cast him eyes down and look away, his lips turned down in a frown.

They kept walking throughout the day, only stopping to camp the next night.

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><p>"Has anyone seen Gray?" Matty asked nervously, wringing his hands and shifting from one foot to the other.<p>

Lyon raised his head, glancing around before his gaze finally landed on Matty. "Hmm? Looking for Gray?"

Matty nodded. "I haven't seen him all since yesterday, and there's something Mirajane wants to talk to him about."

Lyon raised an eyebrow. "Really? I haven't seen Gray either, now that you mention it. Did Mirajane say that it was important?"

Matty nodded again, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. If I can't find Gray, I'll just talk to her."

Lyon rose from his seat, brushing stray dirt from his pants.

"You should look for Gray," he said, "I'll talk to Mirajane. I'll tell you what she says later."

Matty pursed his lips. "Yeah, okay," he said quietly, already glancing around.

The two moved in opposite directions, Matty towards another group of people, and Lyon towards the girl behind the bar.

"Hey, Mirajane," he greeted, sitting down on one of the stools.

Mirajane smiled sweetly. "Hello, Lyon. Did Matty find Gray?" She stacked a pile of plates and placed them on a shelf.

Lyon shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, no." He blinked. "I was wondering if you could tell me what you were going to tell him."

The girl paused, and she carefully set down the glass she'd been cleaning, tucking the rag away under the counter.

"Come with me," she said.

She led Lyon to the back of the small medic ward, into a small section that was blocked off from the rest by a white curtain.

Mirajane opened the cabinet on the wall, and pulled down a large rack of vials, all filled with blood.

"This is what's concerning me."

She selected the vial in the first row on the very left and handed it to him.

Lyon frowned and observed the dark red liquid in confusion.

"What?"

Mirajane pointed to it. "That's the very first sample I ever took. It looks like normal, healthy blood, right?"

Lyon blinked. "...Right," he said slowly.

She scanned the others and picked another, handing that one to him as well.

"Compare the two," she encouraged.

Lyon peered at them, trying to discern any difference between them, but all he saw was thick, red blood.

Just when he was sure there wasn't one, he caught it: a slight, but distinct shimmer.

"Wha..?" He looked up at Mirajane. "What is that?"

She liked her lips. "Gold."

"Gold?"

"Yes. The Attor disks, as it turns out, aren't just healing him. They're changing him."

Lyon frowned. "What does that mean?" he asked, a bit sharper than he meant to.

Mirajane gently took the vials from Lyon's hands and put them back in their spot.

Then she took the third vial from the very last row and held it out.

"This is from yesterday."

In the midst of the blood, was a bold stripe of gold, glittering and shimmering in the light.

Lyon's eyes widened.

"Oh my god," he whispered.


End file.
